Factors associated with the utilization of electronic medical records in the Eastern Region of Ghana |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, University of Cape Coast, Private Mail Bag, Cape Coast, Ghana;2. The Australian Centre for Public and Population Health Research, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, 60 Passefield Street, Liverpool 2170, NSW, Australia;1. Department of Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University of Sofia, Bulgaria;2. Faculty of Public Health, Medical University of Sofia, Bulgaria;1. Department of Health Management and Informatics, University of Central Florida, 528 West Livingston St, Orlando, FL 32801 USA;2. Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University, 401 21st Ave S, Nashville, TN, 37203 USA;3. Department of Economics, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea;1. Center for Surgery and Public Health, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women''s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA;2. Department of General Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women''s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA;3. Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA;4. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA;5. Department of Surgery, Healthcare Transformation Lab, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA;6. Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women''s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1620 Tremont Street, BC3-2M, Boston, MA 02120-1613, USA |
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| Abstract: | ObjectivesThis study examined the factors associated with the use of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) in public hospitals in the Eastern Region of Ghana.MethodsThree hundred and ninety-six (396) healthcare professionals were surveyed from the various public hospitals in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The participants included physicians, physician assistants, nurses, laboratory technicians, radiologists, pharmacists, record managers, and ICT staff. Frequency and Chi-Square analyses were performed on the data.ResultsThe results showed that approximately 59% (n=212) of health professionals indicated low use of EMR services in their hospitals. Lack of computer competence (p<0.001), poor communication between users (p=0.050), cost of EMR resources and facilities (p<0.001), lack of technical personnel to install and operate EMR technology resources (p<0.001), and lack of EMR software packages (p<0.001) had significant negative relationships with EMR utilization.ConclusionUtilization of EMR services is low among the healthcare professionals in the Eastern Region. Therefore, the Ghana Health Service needs to provide training to their employees and supply the needed resources to encourage and support the hospitals and healthcare workers to increase the utilization of the EMR services that improve healthcare delivery in the Region. To enhance EMR utilization, it will be essential that government supports health facilities who have challenges using EMR. To better understand the issues, a mixed method approach is recommended to be used to study healthcare workers from both private and public healthcare facilities in the Eastern Region of Ghana. |
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